Assumpta est Maria - Stephen Moreno, O.S.B. (1889-1953) | Music from Western Australia

Today is the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, according to the beliefs of the Catholic Church, Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy. For some, it is also a public holiday (Hive account@organduo informed me that it is in Lithuania) but it is not here in Australia. I'm sharing with you today a work by Stephen Moreno called Assumpta est Maria. This recording was a live performance in 2012 where I was part of the choir and sub-organist. The choir was called the Schola Cantorum.

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Stephen Moreno was a Catholic priest originally from Spain. His father first introduced him to music before becoming a piano student of Dom Resa. Dom Resa was the organist at their local church. At the tender age of 15, Moreno made the decision to enter the Benedictine abbey of El Miracle. It was at the Benedictine abbey where he took on the name Esteban (Stephen) as part of his religious vocation. In 1907 he furthered his musical education in Rome under the tutelage of Signore Boezzi and Lorenzo Perosi. His compositional talents were further encouraged by Perosi.

In 1908, Moreno entered the Benedictine Community of New Norcia in Western Australia. It was in Australia that he composed 210 works of which 1100 are individual compositions and 200 accompaniments were Gregorian chant. During his formation and preparation for the priesthood, his involvement in sacred music was as assistant organist and choirmaster in the Benedictine community. Moreno’s goal in sacred music was to restore music in the Catholic liturgy back to its “proper state” as per Pope Pius X’s Motu Proprio (1903), highlighting the requirements for liturgical music. Moreno’s compositions included Masses, motets, Litanies, four Te Deums and offertoires for liturgical seasons (such as feast days). He did however write many secular instrumental and vocal works.

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A decade after his ordination to the priesthood by Bishop Fulgentius Torres in 1913, Moreno was involved with the construction of a two manual pipe organ in 1923 at the Abbey Church. In 1927, he was seconded to install another pipe organ at St Joseph of the Sacred Heart in North Sydney. In the 1930s he trained choirs across the countryside and even managed this in a trip to New Zealand. During his time at New Norcia, he conducted many concerts and most notably arranging music for the centenary of the monastery in 1946.

Moreno passed away on March 6, 1953 in Marseilles, France and was buried at the cemetery of the Benedictine abbey of En Calcat.

Moreno’s work was highly regarded in Europe and Australia however in the current era, his music seems to have seen little light. His book Corona Mariae 12 pieces in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is highly agreeable in the current state of the Catholic liturgy today. The Corona Marie is a collection of motets for two equal voices (or two choirs) with organ accompaniment. The melodies are easily recognisable to their Gregorian counterparts and are achievable by any dedicated parish choir. Some of the pieces in the book would be suitable as an offertory motet at a Novus Ordo or Extraordinary Form Mass and some only suited to particular seasons in the Church’s liturgical year.

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The book contains the following pieces:

1. Alma Redemptoris Mater
2. Assumpta est Maria
3. Ave Maria
4. Ave, Maris Stella
5. Ave, Regina Caelorum
6. Magnificat
7. Omni die dic Mariae
8. Regina caeli
9. Salve Regina
10. Stabat Mater
11. Sub tuum praesidium
12. Tota pulchra

A revival or republishing of this book could spark a revival of Moreno’s music in the Catholic liturgy.